


grooming as a love language

by ficfucker



Series: rhink drabbles, ficlets, & fluff [5]
Category: Rhett & Link
Genre: Bathing/Washing, Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, M/M, Sickfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-16
Updated: 2019-06-16
Packaged: 2020-05-13 04:12:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 961
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19243588
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ficfucker/pseuds/ficfucker
Summary: rhett is sick & link takes care of him





	grooming as a love language

**Author's Note:**

> for anonymous who said: 
> 
> I'm a huge sucker for hurt/comfort/sick fics. So fluffy and cute ☺

“Alright, Big Guy, arms up now,” Link instructs. 

 

Rhett groans and snuffles, but complys. He lifts his arms over his head and Link, with slight difficulty in regards to their height difference, peels off Rhett’s sweatshirt. 

 

“ _ Hoo _ , you smell like a dang goat, Rhett,” Link comments. He gets Rhett’s shirt off, too, which is plain mahogany, and drops it neatly into the hamper. 

 

“I think I’m dyin’.” 

 

Link helps Rhett step out of his sweatpants and boxer shorts. “You ain’t dyin’, babe, you just need a shower an’ some rest.” 

 

While Link is shucking off his own clothes, Rhett says, “You’re gonna hafta special order a coffin for me.” 

 

Link rolls his eyes and gives Rhett a smile. They’re both standing there naked now. “Imagine how expensive a 7 foot casket is gonna be.” He turns on the shower head and holds his hand under it to test the temperature. 

 

Rhett has his head leaned back, his eyes closed. “You better use cherry wood for me, man,” he mumbles. 

 

“Stop bein’ so dramatic over there.” Link takes Rhett by the shoulders and herds him into the shower. 

 

Rhett groans deeply as soon as the water hit his back and Link’s stomach leaps at the sound. Even with a cold, even unwashed, Link can’t help his attraction to Rhett. 

 

“See? Bet you’re feelin’ better already,” Link says. He grabs the red-brown cake of cedar wood soap he bought for Rhett as a little surprise gift last week and starts to lather it between his palms. 

 

Rhett murmurs, “Little bit,” and Link starts rubbing his shoulders, his back. He’s not worried about getting sick. Him and Rhett have been together long enough that they do just about everything in pairs, illness included, and he reasons that if he were to catch, he’d have by now. 

 

Link taps on Rhett’s shoulder, gets him to kneel, and he squats. It’s easier to soap him this way and he continues at it, over his chest, lifts his arms and rubs under them. Rhett allows it with contented hums, his eyes closed and head leaned to one side like a sleeping kitten. 

 

“Been holding food down good, right? Want me to make you sumthin’ warm when we’re done?” Link asks softly. He cups his hands to direct the water down Rhett’s body and rinse him. 

 

Rhett doesn’t miss a beat with his answer. “Soup. The kind you make special.” 

 

Link grins. It’s just egg noodles and canned carrots, corn, and kidney beans in chicken broth, some spices thrown in for flavor, but Rhett is always asking for it. He’s shown him how to make it before, there’s no secret or written recipe. Regardless, Rhett insists it tastes best when Link makes it, will sit and eat down 3 bowls in one meal. 

 

It started off as a quick go-to in college when their budget was paper thin and they were both inexperienced with cooking. They were experimenting together in all sorts of ways, late at night in their dorms when they were meant to be sleeping, and soup was one of those endeavors. 

 

Over 20 years later, and Rhett still asks for it. 

 

“Soup can be done, bo,” Link confirms. 

 

Rhett sits himself cross legged on the floor of the tub and Link starts shampooing his hair. 

 

“Gosh, that’s…,” Rhett whispers, his voice trailing off as Link scratches his fingers into his scalp. His eyes haven’t opened once since Link has started touching him. “Best I felt in a week.” 

 

“See, I told ya. Know how to make you feel good in all  _ sorts _ of ways,” Link teases. 

 

Rhett smiles and he would probably loll his head back for a kiss if he didn’t have a cold. He holds his palm out and Link squeezes a dollop of shampoo into it. Rhett rakes it into his beard. 

 

Link washes Rhett down, conditions him, and stands to turn the water off. He steps out from behind the plastic curtain and gets two towels. Rhett is still sitting so Link stands over him, drapes a green towel over his head, and starts drying his hair. 

 

“I should get sick every week jus’ so you’ll pamper me like this.” 

 

Link giggles and towels himself off. “Naw. I’m just keepin’ you alive so we don’t disappoint the Mythical Beasts.” 

 

Rhett finally stands and takes a wobbling step out of the tub. “Oh, I see. It’s a money thing.” 

 

“Yep.” 

 

Link steers Rhett into the bedroom and splays him out on the bed. His hair hangs into his eyes and his cheeks aren’t as flushed as they were before the shower. He looks better, like Link has removed a layer of film off him and he’s human again. “Okay, whatchu wanna wear?” 

 

“Watchu wanna wurr?” Rhett mimics. “I don’ care, man, just grab whatever you wanna see me in.” 

 

Link gets a black shirt with the name of some city on it they’ve visited together in white lettering, a pair of clean boxers, and some plaid pajama bottoms. He sits Rhett up in bed, dresses him, then lets him go limp again. Link dresses himself and stands in the doorway. 

 

“I’ll get the soup ready. You gunna be alright in here or you still dyin’?” 

 

“Dunno how you did it, but you revived me, Neal.” Rhett is sunk into the pillows with a single blanket pulled over his lap. 

 

Link grins. “A good shower will change yer life, man, I told ya.” 

 

Rhett smiles and he looks sleepy. “Good shower paired with dat soup might put me back to 100%.” 

 

“I’ll get on it then. Bring it into you when I’m done.” 

 

Link goes to the kitchen, gets a big pot for boiling out, and turns the stove on while Rhett naps. 

**Author's Note:**

> kudos + comments if you enjoyed 
> 
> talk to me on tmblr @ficfucker!


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